STATEMENT FROM HEATHER SMITH ON VETERANS’ BILL
Rock the Vote congratulates the Department of Veterans Affairs for overturning the ban on voter registration drives in VA hospitals and other government facilities. According to this morning’s NY Times, “The reversal came after months of pressure from state election officials, voting rights groups and federal lawmakers who said that such drives made it easier for veterans to take part in the political process.”
Rock the Vote activists wrote 7,323 letters to their Congressmen and -women asking them to support the Veterans Voting Support Act– a bill introduced in both the House and Senate to overturn the Department’s ban. Rock the Vote is spearheading the young voter movement by registering two million young voters in the largest voter registration campaign of its kind in history and engaging our community to take action on young voter issues. 1,049,398 people between the ages of 18-29 have served in Iraq or Afghanistan; we are committed to protecting their right to vote.
Heather Smith
Executive Director, Rock the Vote
About Rock the Vote
Rock the Vote is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that does not endorse candidates or political parties.? Our mission is to engage and build the political power of young people in order to achieve progressive change in our country. Rock the Vote uses music, popular culture and new technologies to engage and incite young people to register and vote in every election. And we give young people the tools to identify, learn about, and take action on the issues that affect their lives, and leverage their power in the political process. Rock the Vote is creative, effective, and controlled by nobody’s agenda but our own – we tell it like it is and pride ourselves on being a trusted source for information on politics. We empower the 45 million young people in America who want to step up, claim their voice in the political process, and change the way politics is done. www.rockthevote.org.